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Inside the Early Days of DOGE

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Wall Street Journal: “Their work has been shrouded in secrecy, conducted on Signal and at SpaceX offices a few blocks from the White House. Team members have been dispatched to federal agencies to review them for cuts. And Elon Musk, their leader and the world’s richest man, continues to be at President-elect Donald Trump’s side…”

“DOGE is expected to work closely with the Office of Management and Budget, making recommendations to Congress and the Trump administration on ways to bring down spending and cut regulations. DOGE officials have focused on ways that their goals can be accomplished through executive action as opposed to legislatively.”

Lawmakers Backpedal on Eve of TikTok Ban

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“In the middle of a fiercely fought presidential campaign last year, Democratic and Republican lawmakers banded together to pass a bill that could lead to the ban of the popular social media app TikTok in the United States. President Joe Biden signed it into law with little objection,” NBC News reports.

“Now, on the eve of a TikTok ban set for Sunday, neither party wants to take credit for that bipartisan legislative win.”


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CNN Found Guilty of Libel

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“A Florida jury on Friday found CNN guilty of libeling a U.S. Navy veteran in a 2021 story about people paid to rescue endangered Afghans following the Taliban takeover of that country,” the AP reports.

How Biden’s Inner Circle Protected a Faltering President

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“The people closest to President Biden were well aware that he had changed. He talked more slowly than he had just a few years before, needed to hoist himself out of his seat in the presidential limousine and walked with a halting gait,” the New York Times reports.

Said Biden strategist Mike Donilon in 2022:  “Your biggest issue is the perception of age.”

“They rearranged meetings to make sure Mr. Biden was in a better mood — a strategy one person close to him described as how aides should handle any president. At times, they delayed sharing information with him, including negative polling data, as they debated the best way to frame it. They surrounded him with aides when he walked from the White House to the waiting presidential helicopter on the South Lawn so that news cameras could not capture his awkward bearing.”

“They had Mr. Biden use a teleprompter for even small fund-raisers in private homes, alarming donors, who were asked to provide questions beforehand. They came up with replacing the grand steps that presidents use to board Air Force One with a shorter set that led directly into the belly of the plane. They chastised White House correspondents for coverage of the president’s age.”

Trump Team Rebuffs Talks on Mass Deportations

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“Donald Trump has promised to pursue the largest deportation operation in American history as soon as he takes office,” the New York Times reports.

“But the Mexican government and other regional allies have been unable to meet with the incoming Trump administration, according to officials in Latin America, leaving them in the dark about the president-elect’s plans to deport millions of illegal immigrants.”

“The incoming administration rebuffed requests by Mexico for a formal meeting, insisting that detailed discussions will only begin after Mr. Trump is sworn in next Monday… The Guatemalan and Honduran governments received similar messages.”

The Bulwark: Seven experts on what keeps them up at night ahead of mass deportations.

Historians Predict How Joe Biden Will Be Remembered

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Politico: “Overshadowing it all, at least for now, is his ejection from the 2024 campaign amid concerns of declining mental acuity — and then the election of Donald Trump, whom Biden had once defeated and dubbed a threat to American democracy.”

“Historians may reevaluate his legacy in the years to come, after achievements and failures alike are put in more context, not to mention what occurs in Trump’s second term. Will Biden ultimately be viewed as a uniquely poor one-term president, or will history be kinder to him with time?”

Trump Says He Spoke with China’s President

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President-elect Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping, NBC News reports.

Said Trump: “I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China. The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A. It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!”

IRS Commissioner to Quit as Trump Takes Office

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“IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said he would resign with nearly three years left in his term, leaving the government Monday rather than waiting for President-elect Donald Trump to remove him,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Werfel’s decision to quit on Inauguration Day sidesteps a looming confrontation between the tax agency chief and the incoming administration. Trump last month announced his plan to replace Werfel with Billy Long, a former Republican congressman. But until now, Werfel hadn’t said whether he would leave or try to stay until Long’s confirmation, at which point Werfel would be forced out.”

The Free-Speech War Inside the ACLU

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New York Magazine: “Free speech as a value has historically been the domain of the American left: In the 1950s, its archenemy was Republican senator Joseph McCarthy; Black civil-rights leaders saw it as essential to the success of their movement; and in 1988, Republican presidential candidate George H.W. Bush tarred his Democratic opponent, Michael Dukakis, as a ‘card-carrying member of the ACLU.'”

“But over the past ten years, Donald Trump and other right-wing provocateurs have co-opted free-speech values to advance an agenda often at odds with liberalism and social justice (see Elon Musk’s X), while Democrats, progressives, and, arguably, the ACLU have retreated from the ideal that free speech needs to be protected regardless of the viewpoint being expressed.”

National Debt Closes in on Post-World War II Mark

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“The national debt will reach 99.9% of gross domestic product later this year and surpass its post-World War II high as a share of the economy by 2029, the Congressional Budget Office said Friday in updated projections,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Annual deficits will stay above 5% of GDP for the next decade, remaining at levels the U.S. normally doesn’t reach outside of wars, recessions and crises. The government’s cost to service that debt will continue to climb. Net interest expense, which already exceeds defense spending, will top $1 trillion in 2026. And by 2027, the government’s interest costs will be a larger share of the economy than at any point since at least 1940.”

“In reality, the fiscal picture may be even bleaker than the CBO forecast suggests. The official estimates assume that Congress enacts no new laws. That means the forecast for the next decade includes trillions of dollars in tax revenue that come from the expiration of the bulk of 2017 tax cuts at the end of 2025.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

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“I told Jim Jordan that I despised Jamie Raskin so much I would trade ranking members with him. I would rather smell shit for five straight hours than listen to Jamie Raskin lie like a dog! To properly understand that juxtaposition, you need to ride in an elevator for a few floors with Jordan’s ranking member, Jerry Nadler.”

— Rep. James Comer (R-KY), quoted by the Washington Times.

Trump’s Advisers May Move His Swearing-In Indoors

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“Officials involved in President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration may move his swearing-in on Monday inside the Capitol rotunda because of weather concerns,” the New York Times reports.

“Such a change would mean that far fewer people are able to watch the moment when Mr. Trump officially becomes the 47th president, leaving it to those indoors and those watching on television.”

“But the conversation has focused on the extreme cold that is forecast for Monday, when temperatures are projected to hit a low of 11 degrees and a high of only 23 degrees.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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